Family phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats)

Abstract

This latest book is a remarkable feat in itself. But think about the amount of work it has taken to produce the whole series: sorting out the latest taxonomy; finding thousands of pictures; writing accounts for every species and finding the right people to author them; preparing illustrations for every mammal on the planet. This was a Herculean project and I am sure that many mammal watchers are extremely grateful to all involved. /…/ The final volume ensures the handbook ends on a high note. I have not read it in detail yet, and I am sure there will be disagreements with some of the taxonomic choices. But the photographs are fabulous, and feature several people who regularly report on this site – I quickly spotted pictures from Vladimir Dinets Jose Gabriel Martinez and a few from me. Some of the in flight shots in particular are superb – I probably shouldn’t add any of them here for copyright reasons but check out a selection on the publisher’s site. I also recognized most of the contributing authors, many of whom have been kind enough to answer questions from me over the years. Bat people are often the most friendly and passionate of all mammalogists.